StateScoop recently ran an article asking questions about Governor’s Dayton call for $100 million for broadband…

Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton is hoping to make a $100 million investment in the state’s broadband expansion grants, but questions remain over who needs those funds and what kind of connection speeds users deserve.

One question – which areas will benefit…

Yet Dan Dorman, executive director of the Greater Minnesota Partnership, worries that the program’s focus on rural areas limits its potential. Dorman’s group — a nonprofit representing businesses and chambers of commerce around the state — hopes to see broadband expansion serve as an engine for economic development, primarily by improving connection speeds in more developed areas.

“The industry is sort of pushing this view of ‘Oh, just do the townships, we’ll eventually get to the cities,’” Dorman said. “When you do that, you create some islands, where you upgrade everything in the county except for the cities.”

Dorman said that the focus on rural areas instead of urban ones is largely driven by larger cable companies’ unwillingness to upgrade their systems in cities. Kelliher conceded that type of “tension” does exist, but points to the program’s stated goals of providing “border-to-border” connectivity as its true mission.

Another question – who has dictated or influenced the parameters of potential funding…

But Dorman is also concerned about the industry’s influence in charting the state’s Internet future. The governor’s broadband task force, chaired by Kelliher, is currently readying its recommendations for adjusting the statewide speed goals now that the deadline set by the 2010 law has passed.

Earlier this month, Kelliher said her group discussed recommending that the governor push for a statewide baseline of 25 Mbps download speeds and 3 Mbps upload speeds by 2022, with a more “aspirational” goal of ensuring that every Minnesotan can access 100 by 20 speeds in 2026.

Dorman and Schmit are both encouraged by the latter target, but feel the former falls short.

“I suspect the cable industry was very influential in making sure the task force came up with that recommendation,” Dorman said. “We look at that as not really pushing the envelope.”

Kelliher disagrees with that assessment, calling the targets “bold and visionary.”

But there’s also optimism in policymakers’ ability to iron out details and their interest in making an investment in broadband…

But without funding for the grant program, the discussion of statewide speeds may be moot. Schmit said he’s confident that the administration will have a thoughtful proposal crafted by the time the Legislature reconvenes in March, though he cautioned that it may take lawmakers until the end of session in May to pass a bill.

“There are folks out there who ran on this issue,” Schmit said. “There’s a sense of urgency that we’ve got to deliver for Minnesotans.”

There was optimism last year too – although only $10 million was allocated for the broadband fund. Interested constituents could help fuel the sense of urgency by voicing concerns to their representatives.